Author: Festus Adeloye

Chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party, Chief Bode George, has described as “arrant nonsense”, recent calls by some groups asking Igbo people to leave Lagos. “That type of campaign is ‘arrant nonsense’; it is ‘sheer stupidity,” George told the News Agency of Nigeria in Lagos. The retired army officer, a Lagos indigene, spoke on the sideline of an interactive session with the media on the State of the Nation, held at his office in Ikoyi. “It is nonsense. I say it is arrant nonsense. Why should we be saying that the Igbo people should leave? “We have grown with them…

The actress and entrepreneur, Tonto Dikeh, has denied claims that she was arrested and detained by the police or any law enforcement agency in Nigeria. In a statement on her Instagram page, Tonto emphasised that she is a law-abiding citizen and a member of the diplomatic society, committed to living above board. She clarified that she has never been involved in criminal activities and has never received a search warrant, arrest warrant, or any other form of warrant from the Nigerian police. Tonto warned that she would exercise her rights against anyone who spreads false stories or defames her character.…

A member of the House of Representatives Alhassan Doguwa (APC-Kano) says he has no murder case. The comment was a reply to his colleague Abdulmumini Jibrin’s (NNPP-Kano) allegations against him. In a statement he signed on Thursday, Doguwa said, “Let me say categorically as of today. I, Doguwa, am not standing before any court of law in Nigeria for an alleged murder, a culpable homicide. “I went through virtually all criminal investigations and judicial considerations at various levels and came out clean and victoriously innocent. Copies of such rigorous police investigations conducted by the highest police investigations authority in the land…

Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo upset Noah Lyles’ plan for an Olympic sprint double by storming to victory in the 200m in Paris on Thursday. Tebogo clocked an African record of 19.45sec for gold with American Kenny Bednarek taking silver in 19.62sec and Lyles bronze in 19.70sec.

The Minister of Women Affairs, Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye, has disrupted an event tagged, “Unveiling the Power of Women and Food Security,” which was held without the ministry’s approval. Kennedy-Ohanenye disclosed this in Abuja on Thursday, saying the organiser has been taken into custody by the Department of State Services (DSS) for alleged impersonation of the ministry. “There is an impersonating thing going on here. The Federal Ministry of Women Affairs did not plan this. The lady, I have arrested her. Right now, she is with the Department of State Service (DSS),” the minister said in a video posted on her X…

Kaduna State Governor, Uba Sani, on Thursday, pledged to ensure justice for 16-year-old Ismail Muhammad who was killed by a soldier during hunger protest in Samaru area of Zaria in the state. In a tweet on his verified X handle, Sani expressed deep condolences to the family of the deceased and announced a high-powered delegation, led by the Overseeing Commissioner for Internal Security, Samuel Aruwan, to condole with them. The governor assured them that a full and thorough investigation would be conducted, and the culprit would be brought to book. He also promised to maintain close contact with the family…

Apple on Thursday announced changes to its App Store after the European Union accused the iPhone maker of breaking the bloc’s landmark new digital rules. The EU said the App Store terms prevented app developers from freely steering consumers to alternative ways to pay, making Apple the first-ever tech firm to face accusations of breaching a new law known as the Digital Markets Act (DMA). Now Apple says there will be changes to comply with the DMA and address the findings of the European Commission, the EU’s powerful antitrust regulator. At the time, Brussels said developers could only steer customers…

The Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi, has rejected Julius Berger Plc’s proposed cost of N279 billion for the Second Niger Bridge Bypass, describing it as excessively high. In a statement on Thursday, Umahi expressed his disappointment with Julius Berger’s pricing, saying, “One of the bypasses, which is 17.27 kilometres by two on asphalt, was awarded to Julius Berger. We changed the pavement elements to concrete, and the cost we calculated was N133 billion. Berger presented a figure almost twice our estimate, at N279 billion.” He further stated, “We disagreed with this cost during the negotiation in September 2023. We’ve…

The Federal Government has stopped the planned sale of subsidised rice to civil servants. It has, therefore, withdrawn the circular in which it directed civil servants interested in subsidised rice to apply. This was made known in a fresh circular from the Ministry of Special Duty and Inter-Governmental Affairs obtained by our correspondent on Thursday in Abuja. The circular, dated August 2, 2024, which was signed by the ministry’s Director of Human Resources, Aderonke Jaiyesimi, did not give any reason for the withdrawal of the initial memo. It also did not indicate if the scheme was stopped or only suspended.…

The Federal Capital Territory Commissioner of Police, Bennett Igweh, on Thursday ordered an investigation into the death of a yet-to-be-identified man dressed in women’s clothing. The police, in a statement by the command spokesperson, Josephine Adeh, said it received a distress call about a woman’s corpse found along the Katampe-Mabushi expressway and promptly dispatched detectives to the scene. Adah added that preliminary investigations carried out by the detectives revealed that the individual was a man fully dressed in female clothing with no means of identification on him. She said the individual was immediately rushed to the hospital where he was…